Composer. He is best known for the ballet "Giselle" (1841) and the Christmas carol "O Holy Night" ("Cantique de Noel", 1847). His one-act comedy "Le chalet" (1834) is considered the first real French operetta. Adam was born in Paris, France, the son of an Alsatian pianist who tried to dissuade him from a musical career. He was an admittedly poor student at the Paris Conservatory, and after failing to win the "Prix de Rome" music scholarship, he worked as an organist and vaudeville songwriter. His social skills gained him professional access to some of the finest theatres in Europe and his light opera "Le Postillon de Longjumeau" was extremely successful at the Paris Opera-Comique in 1836. He was elected to the Academie des Beaux-Arts in 1844. Following a feud with the director of the Opera-Comique he founded the rival Opera-National with the goal of producing his own works. However, the Revolution of 1848 shut down the venue after four months, driving him into bankruptcy. To pay off his debts he wrote music criticism, joined the Conservatory as professor of composition in 1849, and continued to compose at an even more prolific rate. He had just regained financial solvency when he died of a heart attack at 52. Apart from religious and occasional pieces, Adam wrote exclusively for the theatre, some 53 operas, 13 ballets, and incidental music for over 30 plays, most of which have since fallen into obscurity. Having never quite abandoned his vaudeville entertainment background, he was criticized for relying too heavily on facile melody and often resorted to extra-musical novelty to attract the public. (For the 1856 ballet "Le Corsaire" he had a genuine captured pirate ship hauled onto the stage). Adam was also notorious for his decades-long unfriendly rivalry with composer and critic Hector Berlioz, who frequently savaged him in his reviews; Adam returned the favor by hindering Berlioz's prospects at the Paris Opera and in other official circles. Ironically, perhaps, when Adam died Berlioz took his place as a member of the Academy. He was nevertheless often cited for his importance in helping to introduce a popular, unpretentious spirit into French theatre music, influencing subsequent creators of operettas such as composer Jacques Offenbach . (bio by: Bobb Edwards)